James 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Today I will share with you some Biblical doctrines regarding money. I have been reading J. Bakker's Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse and I would like to share his warning, supported by scripture, regarding worldly attachments and wealth. The Bible is rich with passages on riches, so I will include a lot in this article.
Psalm 73:12 Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
These are incredibly strong statements, and true. How many murders have been committed for money, how many lies told for gain, how many drugs dealt, how much fornication, there are no limits some will go to for fortune. Judas, the treasurer of the disciples, betrayed Jesus for silver.
Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth...and covetousness, which is idolatry
I myself have fallen into this snare of the devil, as I am sure many of you also have. I have pierced myself through with oh, so many sorrows for the desire of money. Deceits such as how much easier things would be if I had a little more, how much more good I could do, how much happier I and others could be. What an idol we can make of money! Surely it is a god of this world.
Proverbs 28:11 The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
1 Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
The problem with money is putting your reliance and faith into this instead of putting the faith into God, who is able to provide us with an abundance of things we need and enjoy, without a penny. With abundant money we rely on this, rather than depend on God- thinking we are sufficient.
James 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. 9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: 10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. 11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
As Christians we need to be looking above this temporary fleshly kingdom to God's kingdom of heaven which lasts forever. The fruits God wants us to reap here are spiritual, not material gain. Even if we do attain the coveted riches they are still a source of great sorrow and loss in themselves.
1 Timothy 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
Proverbs 23:5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
If you do have wealth, please know that I am not saying this to condemn you, but I want to warn you and those who likewise seek after material wealth the many pitfalls and sorrows that follow this.
Matthew 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
In God's eyes, a person is rich because he has not given enough to the poor. He is disobeying God in storing up the excess for himself rather than giving it to those who really need it, depriving them.
Proverbs 13:7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Luke 3:11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
Please do not fall for a so-called prosperity gospel, the prosperity we should be seeking is solely spiritual and comes from forsaking the material gains of this world, being content and not coveting.
Proverbs 30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
Proverbs 1:32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Finally, let us talk about the riches we should be seeking: spiritual richness. Faith, wisdom, knowledge, honour, righteousness, and the greatest richness that we can receive is the grace of God.
Proverbs 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Brethren, seek not a crown of gold and jewels: but Christ's precious crown of thorns, a crown of life.
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